Quality of Beef Roasts: Electronic Versus Conventional Cooking

The effect of breed, backfat thickness, and methods of cooking on quality of beef roasts was determined by sensory and objective methods. Arm and rib roasts from Hereford, Shorthorn, Charolais, and Shorthorn-Charolais animals were cooked by several methods. Roasts of the ninth to twelfth ribs were all dry roasted at 325 Farenheit. Boned and unboned roasts (sixth to eighth ribs) were cooked by conventional and electronic methods. Only significant results are reported herein. Objective tests using the Warner-Bratzler shear indicated roasts of Shorthorn animals to be the most tender of the four breeds. Sensory analysis by an experienced panel of judges rated roasts of Hereford and Shorthorn to be most tender, juicy, and flavorful. Conventional methods of cooking resulted in higher quality beef than did electronic cooking. Greater total losses, less juiciness, less flavor, and less tenderness were recorded for meat cooked by microwave activity. There was a high correlation between objective and sensory measurements for tenderness and juiciness. Age of animal and shear values showed high correlation with the younger animals (11 months) in this study being less tender. Flavor was shown to be related to backfat thickness